Check local jellyfish levels near you in France with online tools

Jellyfish have been seen along several beaches in the south of France in recent days, with authorities warning swimmers to be cautious when entering waters.

Jellyfish are present in stretches of water along a number of public beaches in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region, from Marseille to Monaco and the Italian border.

Some sightings have also been made near Montpellier (Hérault) and Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales).

Despite the warnings authorities are not overly concerned with the arrival of the Pelagia noctiluca jellyfish - the one presently the subject of the most sightings along beaches in the south - as this is a natural occurrence.

The jellyfish’s natural habitat is the Mediterranean, and several events can cause them to come close to beaches throughout the year. 

Instead, it is more a reminder for swimmers to avoid contact and injury (although if you are stung, a list of best practices is found in our article here).

Other species have also been reported.

Stings from the various species that have been noted can be painful but are not fatal, however their presence can sometimes lead to beaches being temporarily closed.

Check if beach near you affected

There are several ways to check if a beach near you has had jellyfish sightings, useful if you do not wish to swim near them or do not want to risk a beach you intend to visit being closed.

A list of beaches where jellyfish have been noted can be found on the ‘frequence-sud’ website. 

It offers an interactive map showing the affected areas. 

The site also asks its visitors to alert them to the presence of jellyfish at beaches in the south. 

This can be done using geo-location technology, with the website able to work out which beach you are on based on the location of your phone when you connect to the site. 

Note this is optional, you can manually enter the information also. 

A second interactive map is available from Acri-ST, with an accompanying smartphone application. It shows the date when the jellyfish were seen, and their approximate numbers.

It also shows if beaches that commonly experience jellyfish sightings have not reported any for a number of days, meaning they are more likely to be safe.

There is also a Europe-wide map on Meduseo.com (available in several languages including English), which also crowd sources sightings to provide a map. 

Users can report a jellyfish sighting at any beach, which is then displayed on the map, with a corresponding colour chart showing if the number of jellyfish is estimated to be low or high (or if a report only consisted of a single jellyfish). 

Clicking on a section of the map where a report has been made allows you to see a more detailed outline of the area (on a zoomed in Google-Earth style map) showing the exact geo-location of the report.

It also shows if the number of sightings is higher or lower compared to the year before, as well as providing a list of the jellyfish that may be spotted.

It is frequently updated, with at least 10 reports being given on August 6 by 11:00. 

In cases where beaches are closed due to the presence of jellyfish, signage should make this clear to visitors.